Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in New Delhi on Sunday afternoon of May 19 for the first leg of his maiden foreign trip since he took office in March. During his visit, Li will meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari, Chairman of Rajya Sabha (the Upper House) of India’s Parliament and Vice President.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, was elected president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission (CMC) on March 14.

The change of China’s leadership for a new term of five years was formally initiated by the national legislature, with a candidate list discussed by the presidium of the first session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) on the afternoon of March 12.

The Chinese begin celebrating the lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival on Feb. 10 this year. Most Chinese people follow traditional cultural elements and customs in what is the most festive season in the country every year.